Equipment Questions

[mike11]

I am a brand new diver, experience is about 1/2 of a dive. I am not sure what brand of equipment to get. I have looked at everything from Aqua Lung to Poseidon. But before I buy anything, I would like to have some input. So, please tell me:

What you use
What you prefer and/or recommend for a new diver
What you hate

Mike

 

[Warhammer]

You can see what some of us have by clicking here. But as for as what you need, I have no idea, best advice I can give you is research whatever interests you and then rent, rent and borrow. The more gear you try before you buy and the more research you do, the better choices you'll make for what's right for you. There is no brand X is the best and nothing else matches it. Typically any high quality, name brand gear like ScubaPro, Zeagle, Apeks, Mares, Seaquest, Sherwood and many others will be just fine. Another thing is to buy the absolute best you can afford and gear that allows you to grow as you progress. For instance, if you plan on sometime in the future diving with nitrox, then buy a computer that is nitrox capable. After you've narrowed your search down a bit, then ask individual questions about the item that interests you.

 

[Dee]

Warhammer has given you some excellent advice. Try to rent gear from different manufacturers, and different styles, even if you have to go to several different shops to do so. As you gain experience, your gear needs will change. Jacket style BC or back inflate BC...try them both before you decide to buy. You'll save money in the long run!

As you can see from the link Warhammer provided, we all use a wide variety of brands and styles, but we also do a wide variety of diving. Once you've narrowed things down a bit, we'll be more than happy to give you our opinions.

Dee

 

[Mario S Caner]

Hello Mike11, welcome to the boards, we're glad to have you here. If you can give us some more information like where you plan on diving and the type of dives you intend to do, you'll find that we'll collectively be able to give you more advice than you will know what to do with.

 

[large_diver]

Hi Mike,

I'm a fellow newbie (25 dives). Here's my $0.02

The "what to buy" question is kind of overwhelming. Information is available from many sources -- scuba mags, chat boards, fellow divers, etc., etc.

One critera I found useful to help narrow down my choices is to decide which of your area dive shops you feel "comfortable" dealing with -- they seem helpful and knowledgable, etc. Then evaluate what brands they carry. This may help guide your choices to some extent.

I am currently in the market for a new regulator and computer. Using various Non-dive shop sources (net, scuba mags, friends, etc.), I narrowed my choice downs to 3 or 4 regs/computers. I then went to the 3-4 dive shops that I like in my area to see what brands they offer. Although I would never recommend having a dive shop be the only driver for equipment choices, service after the sale is important to me, especially for life sustaining equipment like regulators. I feel more comfortable buying equipment from a shop I have a relationship with and know something about vs. driving far away just to get a better deal or specific brand. I also want to buy both the reg and the computer from the same shop in the hopes of negotiating a better deal (buying all from one shop typically results in better savings).

All that being said, here are a few equipment recs (GENERAL recommendations, since I don't know anything about where or how you plan to dive):

Regs -- I narrowed my choices to Atomic and Scubapro, but these are pricey options. I've heard many good things about Oceanic -- the Delta III is one of the best buys out there for the $$$.

Computers -- Suunto...conservative, easy to use computers with Nitrox capabilty. Better to buy something that is Nitrox capable now vs. having to buy another one later.

Good luck.

 

[mike11]

Just to let you know, I will be diving a lot in the keys (I live in Florida) with the occasional trip to the carribian and wherever I end up. As for depth, anywhere from 5 to 60ft. Thanks to you guys, I have narrowed my choises. My local dive shop recomends Aqua Lung (formerly U.S. Divers). But I am not sure if it is the best deal. I have also found a good deal on some Tusa and Genisis gear.

Tusa RS230 1st and 2nd stage regulator
Tusa SS10 Octopus
Tusa SCA-321 3-gauge Computer
Tusa Imprex BC
Tusa Cetus fins
U.S. Divers Snorkel and Mask
All for $953.89 including tax and shipping

Or

Genisis Origin GS2000 1st and 2nd stage regulator
Genisis Origin Octopus
Genisis 2-gauge Computer
Tusa Liberator 2 BC
Tusa Cetus fins
U.S. Divers Snorkel and Mask
All for 678.26 including tax and shipping

Or

I could take my chances with Aqua Lung and see how much it costs.

I'm just not sure which deal has better "quality" equipment for its price. I'm leaning for the Tusa because it seems that they have a better BC, regulator, and computer than Genisis. But Genisisis a lot cheaper and I do have a budget. As for Aqua Lung, I don't know their prices.

So, I basically want something with good quality but not an "off the charts" type of price. So if you could tell me:

Which of the 3 is better quality
Which of the 3 YOU think is a better deal
and
Which of the 3 you would pick

Thanks a LOT,
Mike

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Mike,

WarHammer speaks wisely. RENT RENT and BORROW before you
buy. It might cost you a bit every week but it will save
you money in the long run.

Most of us have BOXES full of gear that we no longer use
because:

1) it looked nice in the shop
2) felt nice in the pool
3) felt OK in open water when all was well
4) became uncomfortable after an extended period of time
in OW or we found it did not work well when the chips
were 'down'

beyond that i'd tell you that provided you buy BRAND-name
gear you really can't go wrong. It is merely a matter of
how much do you want to spend, what features are you
seeking and are you looking for "high-performance AND reliability" or just reliability. As an example: Sherwood
regs are nice, dependable regs, but my Atomic breathes more
smoothly at 150 feet than my sherwood does at 50.

what i "hate":

quick release straps, conventional straps for gauges, and snorkels (unless i am snorkeling)

 

[large_diver]

Mike,

Agreed with GM and Warhammer

I've been diving for about a year and still haven't bought a reg or computer.

The reg -- because I've been renting many different models...this is the purchase I want to do the MOST research on. Hard to understand which one works best and you like the most until you try.

The computer -- wanted to get experience diving with tables before jumping to a computer.

Note that many dive shops will rent you models they don't normally rent if they know you are serious about buying something from them. Just ask.

Good luck.

 

[large_diver]

OK -- my third post on this thread.....enough already

Another thing to consider when making equipment choices is the advice of other divers in your area. As a newbie, your main exposure has been to other students, who know as much or less than you do, or instructors, who may work for your local dive shop and who will steer you to the brands that shop carries -- not exactly an unbiased opinion. Don't get me wrong -- most dive shops provide great advice...it's just better that you think about the diving you will be doing and the features that are important to you before you let someone else make the decision for you.

This is another good reason for renting -- if gives you time to:

- meet other divers and hear what they like and don't like
- Read more on equipment choices
- Try rental gear yourself (e.g., "oh -- I hate diving with a regulator first stage swivel")
- Think more about the diving you want to do -- tek, rec, wreck, nitrox, etc., etc. -- may affect your choices

OK, enough from me -- as a fellow newbie (25 dives) these thoughts and choices are still fresh on my mind.

 

[turnerjd]

Don't buy straitaway.

The best advice that you can get is to beg, borrow steal, or rent kit before you go and buy vast quantities.

Try all the different styles of BCD (traditional jacket, back inflation jacket, wings), try different suits etc..

The more you dive, the more you know about the diving you will be doing. You might find after 10 dives or so that getting out of bed early on saterday or sunday to go diving no longer holds any appeal for you. Or, you might decide to only do vacation (hot water) diving, or decide to do all year round diving where you would be better off with a drysuit.

Get some experience first if possible. There are plently of threads about equipment order of purchase. Also, you don't have to buy all your kit to begin with new. I started with a second hand drysuit. This has now done several hundred dives without major problems. I didn't want to spend vast ammounts of cash to begin with, untill I knew what diving I was doing and what kit was most apprpriate.

Go slowly and surely with the kit buying. Don't give in to temptation and buy a job lot now, as you might find it isn't appropriate in a few months time. All kit is mix and match, you don't have to get everything by the same manufacturer (I have a Scubapro BCD with Buddy wings attached). get what is best for you.

What I prefer:-
Regs - Apeks
BCD - Scubapro and Buddy (APvalves)
Drysuit - DUI
Tank - Faber
Mask fins and snorkel - don't go for any brand name, go for what fits you, and you find most comfortable.

What I hate:-
Regs - Sherwood - just never got along with them.
BCD - most weight integrated models (except Zeagle ranger which is excellent)
Drysuits - Typhoon - a UK company famouse for making tea-bag style drysuits.

HTH

Jon T